How Do You Translate Your Non-EU Dossier For The EU Market?

The issues faced when translating a non-EU dossier for the EU market is covered in this blog by from the CMC team at Acorn Regulatory.

Any regulatory professional will tell you that when you’re developing your new medicinal product your developmental R&D strategy should have your regulatory strategy firmly in sight. This is an ideal that many larger companies successfully perform with ease whereby they develop a global product which has an individualised regulatory strategy for each region firmly embedded in the development process.

How does the smaller company achieve this when they have limited resources and perhaps limited regulatory expertise?

The answer : “it’s possible but you need correct advice”

Smaller companies and SME’s tend to develop a product with one region or market in mind and then when they achieve regulatory approval in that market their focus moves to registration in a different region. SME’s are then left with the task of trying to tailor their existing dossier for the proposed region. This can be a daunting task but with the correct regulatory assistance it can be done successfully.

In Europe the first step for any new registration is “what is the proposed legal basis of the application”. The legal basis will dictate the dossier content, market exclusivity and paediatric requirements in a very profound way. Directive 2001/83/EC as amended outlines the various “legal basis” that a new application can adopt. It is also important to note that in Europe your legal basis is independent of the procedural route that your company wishes to take. Whether you decide the Centralised, Decentralised or National route your choice in legal basis will remain the same.

In the majority of circumstances only one legal basis will be appropriate whereby your product only fits into one category. But what happens when your product doesn’t fit nicely into one of the legal basis categories. You can be left navigating the depths of Directive 2001/83/EC and coming up with more questions than answers. When your product is an established active substance where there are no current patent’s, but includes a new dosage form, strength, route of administration, a new indication or any combination of these, your product cannot be considered as a generic medicine. Three possible legal basis’s may be open to you:

Article 8 (3) Full Dossier Mixed Marketing Authorisation

Article 10 (a) Full Dossier Well established use

Article 10 (3) Abbreviated Dossier (hybrid application)

Knowing the requirements and limitations to each option will help you determine which is the best approach or appropriate choice for you and your business. The table below outlines various differences in the dossier requirements between each legal basis.

Article 8 (3) Full Dossier Mixed Marketing Authorisation

Article 10 (a) Full Dossier Well Established Use

Article 10 (3) Abbreviated Dossier (hybrid application)

Dossier Requirements

· Company’s own studies + published peer-reviewed literature

· No reliance on EU Reference product.

· Paediatric regulation 1901/2006 is applicable

· PIP/waiver must be submitted

· Advantages due to certain data protection and market exclusivity

· Must demonstrate “well established use” of the active substance in the community over a 10 year period. This use must also demonstrate that the active substance has a recognised efficacy and an acceptable level of safety.

· Proposed indication must be aligned with the existing recognised indication within the EU

· Risk of rejection in certain member states if an alternative route of administration is proposed

· No reliance on an EU reference product

· Paediatric regulation 1901/2006 is not applicable

· No PIP/waiver is required

· EU reference product is required and must be referenced in the dossier

· Company’s own studies which must have been conducted using the EU reference product (i.e. bioequivalence)

· Reference is made in the dossier to the Non-clinical and Clinical data of the EU reference product

· Paediatric regulation 1901/2006 is not applicable

· No PIP/waiver is required

Once your legal basis is decided upon it will direct what clinical and non-clinical sections (Modules 4 and 5) of the dossier need to be revised.

Module 1

Another area that can present problems for companies who are inexperienced in the EU regulatory process is Module 1. Module 1 is crucial to the successful validation of any procedure within Europe and requires time to compile and generate properly. It is important that you identify what documents you will require in Module 1 and that is largely based on your proposed legal basis. Documents that require planning at an early stage are outlined below.

While the eAF is not a difficult document to complete it prompts the user regarding the associated documentation for the Annex. All the GMP and Quality related documents are contained there. If the applicant starts generating this document early in the regulatory process it allows adequate time to request English translations etc.

Module 2

Module 2 is generic across all the proposed legal basis and all documentation should be supplied as outlined in the eCTD guidelines.

Module 3

While the large proportion of any Module 3 dossier is consistent no matter where the dossier is registered it is important to note the following points:

All non-EU references must be removed and replaced with the EU equivalent (e.g. USP to Ph.Eur.)

Appropriate EU Guidance documents must be referred too throughout each document in module 3

European specifications and associated limits as detailed in the various EMA guidance documents must be adhered to

In conclusion, obtaining an EU authorisation for a US product is certainly possible and while it takes careful planning it is achievable for the SME style company.

If you would like assistance with translating a Non-EU dossier for the EU market you can talk to us. We have an experienced team in our pharmaceutical services team that can help you every step of the way. To find out more just call us on 00353 52 61 76 706 or complete the form below and we will get back to you.